Friday, 3 June 2016

When Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's version of 'The Green Hornet' debuted on screens in 2011, I was disappointed by all the bad reviews, all the hatred it got from devoted fanboys of the TV series who whined, "Oh, Seth Rogen raped my childhood for his own amusement!" or some nonsense like that.

I admit, the film wasn't perfect. Especially in its tone and pacing. And some awkward moments. But it was fun enough, it brought something new and different to the superhero genre, the dialogue was snappy (I still sometimes say "Go!" the way Britt does in his interview with Lenore Case.) I even got to meet Edward James Olmos at MCM Comic Con London, wearing my Green Hornet costume and he said he liked working on the film.

But that's all beside the point.

There was one bit where Britt and Kato have escaped Chudnofsky and his men, and the whole time before Britt was panicking and fleeing like the useless brat he is. He did absolutely nothing. And then he mocks Kato and calls him "baby", which is exactly how Britt had been acting.
I was just as ashamed and annoyed as the rest of the audience while watching it. But I realised during that scene, this had been the exact same attitude that I had towards my sister. I would feel criticised for the mistakes I'd make, and had blamed all my negative qualities on her. Because I felt that she was stronger, smarter and just plain better than me. And I felt inferior because of my social dysfunction. My Asperger's Syndrome. My slight dyspraxia. And as soon as I realised I was behaving this way towards my sister, I stopped blaming her for qualities that were no-one else's but my own.

So, The Green Hornet had been one of the first films where I recognised an aspect of myself within a film character.

The film is, as Rogen said, about jealousy and insecurity, qualities we all recognise more than we'd like to admit. The hero is a loser with daddy issues. The villain is a neurotic has-been with a midlife crisis.

So it didn't exactly cause a full spiritual awakening, but it was definitely a step on the right path.

You needn't be ashamed of this film, Seth, once you realise what the film meant to me.